Coaster



J. F. EBERLE May 26, 1942.

COASTER Filed Dec. 12, 1939 il r Strom/W5 Patented May 26, 1942 ,5

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICEy COASTER Joseph E. Eberle, Westfield, Pa. l Application December'lZ, 1939, Serial No. 398,869

01. ifs-4c) '2 claims.

This invention relates to the art of coasters, and'more particularly to those used on the bottom portions of furniture to facilitate easy move- I felt, but all such prior constructions with which I am familiar have been subject to various disadvantages, such as marring of floors, or damage torugs, or the accumulation of dirt, or limited life, or complicated construction.'

I have discovered that these disadvantages can be overcome and certain additional advantages achieved by providing a coaster having a leather insert therein, as set forth below.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a new and improved coaster.

It is another object to provide a coaster having a leather insert.

It is also an object to provide a coaster which is simple in construction, is easily applied, will -slide easily, and will not damage floors or rugs.

It is a particular object of my invention to provide a coaster which has a cushioning effect.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a coaster having a cushioned insert that has a convex portion providing a minimum bearing surface on the supporting floor or rug. f

It is an additional object to provide a coaster having a leather .bearing surface in which the leather is retained in place by its lateral compression.

With the above and otherV objects in view,

which will be apparent as the description proceeds, I have set forth my invention in the following specification, and have illustrated it in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the bottom portion of a piece of furniture provided with my improved coaster, with a portion thereof shown in section on the line I-I of Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of my coaster;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, my improved coaster preferably comprises a metal stamping I0, having a body portion II from which prongs I2 are struck out to a position at right angles with said `body II, and a downwardly-extending fiange I3.

A leather disc I4 is inserted inthe stamping Ill and the flange I3 is then crimped to provide a tight connection between the iiange and the leather disc I4. The leather disc I4 is preferably Vmade just slightly smaller in diameter than vthe original interior dimensions of the stamping,`

so that a crimping operation will` distort the leather disc and give it a concave upper surface I5 and a convex lower surface I6, as best shown in Fig. 1. As also shown therein, the result of the the legs or other projecting portions of the article I8, which it is desired to equip for a sliding movement, by merely driving the prongs I2 into the said legs.

As will also be obvious from the above, the surface I6, which bears against the floor or rug, isof hard yet compressible sole leather and hence will not scratch or marr the floor or injure a rug, but will enable furniture equipped With these coasters to slide smoothly over any object on which it rests. This sliding is facilitated by the provision of the convex bearing surface I6 and the yielding cushion action discussed above.

In practice, the coaster may be made of any suitable materials, but I prefer to make the metal member .by stamping, and to make the insert out of the best grade of sole leather, in view of its long wearing qualities.

In View of their small area, these inserts may be manufactured-from waste leather, as for instance, from scraps left in the manufacture of shoe soles.

Although I have herein illustrated the stamping I0 and the leather disc I4 as being of circular construction, it will be understood that these may be made of any other suitable geometrical shape which will accomplishthe objects of my invention as set forth above.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of thisinvention may be made without i the adjacent surface of the stamping to provide an air space whereby a cushioning effect is obtained. c

2. A coaster comprising av metal stamping and an inserted leather bearing surface, the stamp-A ing being providedwith a circumferential flange which tightly engages the insert and places it under lateral compression to give it a convex vbearing surface and a concave upper surface spaced from the adjacent surface of said stamping to provide a cushioning effect. Y

JOSEPH F. EBERLE. 

